Former exec. at Greeley company sentenced to prison for stealing large amount of money from employer

Posted on 01/25/2018

GREELEY, Colo. (Weld County D.A.) – A former executive for an oil and gas engineering company will spend the next several years behind bars after he admitted to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his ex-employer.

On Wednesday morning, a Weld County District Court judge sentenced Brandon Stephens, 38, to five years in the Department of Corrections after an investigation revealed he embezzled between $600k and $800k while he was employed by the Wood Group.

According to court documents, Stephens served as the senior vice president of operations for the Wood Group, which is a multi-national corporation that also has a location in Greeley.

He was hired in November of 2011. Investigators believe he stole from the company between 2012 and 2015.

Weld County Chief Deputy District Attorney, Steve Wrenn, said in the sentencing hearing Wednesday, that Stephens used the stolen money for personal expenses, including family vacations and home remodeling projects.

“This wasn’t a single moment of weakness or a one-time decision,” Wrenn said to the court. “This didn’t stem from a gambling habit or to take care of a specific financial burden. This was a case of greed. He had a job that paid him a salary of roughly $190,000 plus bonuses every year, yet Mr. Stephens still stole hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund a luxurious lifestyle.”

Stephens was originally charged with 21 felonies, including two counts of Theft, eight counts of Money Laundering, two counts of a Computer Crime, seven counts of Unauthorized Use of a Financial Transaction Device and two counts of Filing a False Tax Return.

He was sentenced to five years in the DOC on one count of theft, three years concurrent on one count of Money Laundering and three years concurrent on one count of Filing a False Tax Return.

Stephens was booked into the Weld County Jail immediately following his sentencing hearing.